John McCain, whose good fortune has not included winning the White House, has now predicted that if the 2016 presidential election took place tomorrow, his good friend Hillary Clinton would win.

Appearing with the liberal host of “Piers Morgan Live” on CNN, McCain lurched back into his chummy address form, saying, “I would bet, my friend, as much as I hate to admit it, that right now — this is why we have campaigns (heh, heh) — if the election were tomorrow, Hillary Clinton would most likely be president of the United States.”

While McCain disingenuously claimed, “She wouldn’t be my candidate,” he said that Clinton currently has the best chance of winning due to her popularity, adding it’s a good thing the 2016 election is still three years off, giving Republicans some time.

Hillary‘s husband, Bill, has previously declared, “She and John McCain are very close. They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history, and they’re afraid they’d put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other,” the former president said.

Piers Morgan’s ratings have hit new lows. Our prediction is he’d have a better chance at an uptick with a more compelling guest than thedisgraced John McCain.

As the federal overreaches contained in the Common Core curriculum have gained more exposure, parents have balked to the point that Huppenthal and Brewer have attempted to dupe the public byslickly changing the name “Common Core” to “Arizona College and Career Ready Standards.” Her press release deceptively rechristening the federal overreach can be readhere. The duo is disgracefully pushing policies intended to cede control of every facet of our education system to federal bureaucrats and undermine local control.

Huppenthal’s transformation is confounding. Though he previously claimed conservative credentials as a candidate, he is now cozying up to Obama’s education point man Arne Duncanas the duo made the rounds of the state. Huppenthal warmly welcomed Duncan and his cohorts from the U.S. Department of Education and accompanied them on stops criss-crossing Arizona, from Window Rock to Bisbee, Phoenix, Marana, Tucson, Chandler, Glendale, and Yuma.

We are being deceived at every turn. In the end, five Republican Senators shamefully broke ranks and voted with Democrats to defeat the bill: John McComish, Adam Driggs, Steve Pierce, Michele Reagan and Bob Worsley, deceived their constituents —- who had every right to expect more than such traitorous actions. Reagan is now running as a Republican for Secretary of State.

From the “No Obama Overreach Is Too Much Department” comes this news regarding the federal government’s crushing boot on the neck of the First Amendment and the free press.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) isreportingthat the Obama administration is looking to send the FCC into newsrooms to investigate how the media chooses stories.

The Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs (CINs) initiative was proposed last spring. The FCC said it wanted information from television and radio broadcasters “to ascertain the process by which stories are selected, station priorities — for content production quality, and populations served — perceived station bias, perceived percent of news dedicated to each of the eight CINs of ‘critical information’ necessitating coverage and perceived responsiveness to underserved populations.” Read the CIN study here.

Equally disturbing are the in-depth interview questions (beginning on page 25) stratified by employment level, with questions such as What is the news philosophy of the station? Who else in your market provides news? Who are your main competitors? How much news does your station air every day?

At the top of page 37, the city of Tucson is misspelled as TUSCSON, adding to the anxiety level brought on by this alarming report.

There are legitimate reasons for concern that the government will exert influence over what stations cover, since the FCC authorizes their licenses. The agency is now poised to expand its regulatory powers to include newspapers, over which it has no authority.

This blatant attempt at media control comes on the heels ofReporters Without Bordersranking the United States 46th in its World Press Freedom Index.

ACLJ’s Matthew Clark cogently sums up theunconscionable assault on our free societywith these words: “Imagine a government monitor telling Fox News it needed to cover stories in the same way as MSNBC or Al Jazeera. Imagine an Obama Administration official walking in to the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal and telling it that the American public would be better served if it is stopped reporting on the IRS scandal or maybe that reporting on ObamaCare “glitches” is driving down enrollment.”

Although President Ronald Reagan appointed the first woman to the U.S. Supreme Court and the first female ambassador to the United Nations, students at the University of South Carolina are being given a much different perspective of thetwo-term iconic president.

Overpriced at $179, the textbook, Introduction to Social Work & Social Welfare: Critical Thinking Perspectivesaccuses Ronald Reagan of being a sexist who was insensitive to women and minorities. Interestingly, the book describes conservatives in general, and Reagan in particular, as taking “a pessimistic view of human nature,” though Reagan was known for his optimism. In the skewed book, liberals are described as the optimists.

Among other foolish claims, the book says Reagan ascribed to women ‘primarily domestic functions’ and failed to appoint many women to significant positions. BesidesJustice Sandra Day O’Connorand U.N. AmbassadorJeane Kirkpatrick,he appointed over 1400 women to policy-making positions including Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole, Secretary of Health and Human Services Margaret Heckler and Secretary of Labor Ann Dore McLaughlin.

The author, Karen Kirst-Ashman, also accuses Reagan of discounting the “importance of racism and discrimination.” She asserts conservatives are opposed to change; have a pessimistic view of human nature; and believe in only “minimal assistance to the needy because the needy can help themselves.”

Liberals, on the other hand, are portrayed as having a positive view of change, a much more upbeat view of human nature; and a fundamental belief government serves to protect people from racism, sexism, other forms of discrimination and poverty.

The textbook attacks wealth, arguing that those who have achieved success “find that having a social class of poor people is useful.” In fact, Reagan, who personally understood the promise of the American Dream, firmly believed helping the unproductive become productive benefited us all. He opposed over-arching government and implemented four specific economic policy components that became known as Reaganomics:

1. Tax cuts to restore incentives for economic growth.

2. Spending reductions, including a $31 billion cut in 1981.

3. Anti-inflation monetary policy emphasizing the strength of the dollar.

But the left is obviously dedicated to destroying Reagan’s legacy, conservatism and the economic principles that led to a period of unprecedented economic growth in the United States. The educrats are propagandizing and indoctrinating our youth tobelieve in the agenda (shocking linked video) rather than truth — as American parents foot the bill for the brainwashing of their own children.

Heritage Foundation has done a masterful job of illustrating the 2014 federal budget in pictures. Today debt stands at an unsustainable $17 trillion, yet projections point to a relentless $205 trillion facing American citizens.

The Congressional Budget Office shows very clearly something we’ve known for a long time: America’s spending and debt are out of control. Now reaching $140,000 per American household, the national debt is bigger than what the entire U.S. economy produces in a year. U.S. public debt — what the nation has borrowed in credit markets — has doubled, as a share of the economy, since before the recession to levels not seen since around World War II. Read more aboutwhy debt matters.

Now more than ever, it is crucial that Americans understand what our nation’s spending, taxes, and debt mean for them and their families. The Heritage Foundation’s Federal Budget in Pictures offers a unique tool to learn about the federal budget in a clear and compelling way.

Federal spending per householdis projected to grow by 22 percent over the next decade, after adjusting for inflation. Federal spending per household more than doubled from 1962 to 2003. Spending grew by 17 percent just over the past decade.

E.J. Montini is a left-wing columnist often appropriately residing on the left side of the front of the Valley Section in the Periódico de la República de Arizona (Arizona Republic). His pieces tend toward sappiness, but always slinging theradical party lineof hisagendizedemployer and often in unison with his cohort columnist Laurie Roberts, illusory illustrator Steve Benson, open-borders editorialists and the crew of pro-amnesty hacks posing as journalists at the newspaper. Amid the axing of long timers and the staff cutbacks, those looking retirement squarely in the eye are doing their level best to carry the República’s water until the last light is switched off.

In Sunday’s edition, the desperation is both inane and palpable. Online Montini’s column is titled, “I knew Arizona was home when…”

It is accompanied by this odd EDITOR’S NOTE:

“Many of us are transplants from other places. We might live here, but someplace else is home. That is, until that moment when our copper-colored state becomes part of our identity. We’re launching a new A-section page in The Republic at the end of March that will feature stories that are uplifting, local, inspiring and empowering. And we need your help. Send us your moments, 300-word essays on the topic “I knew Arizona was home when …”

It might’ve been when your first child was born. When you voted for local elections for the first time. When a spectacular sunset made you stop in your tracks. We want to know what it was for you. E-mail your 300 words and a photo of yourself, if you’d like.”

The unnamed editor promises to “feature some of the best essays on our upcoming good-news page” in the hardcopy edition of the newspaper, as well as online and on its social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.

Initially the scheme sounds suspiciously as though the editorial board is eliciting the daily’s few remaining readers to do the work paid staff previously handled — possibly signaling another round of layoffs? Then reality hits. This topic reeks of a setup ‘enlightenment piece’ featuring ‘Aha! Moments’ to instill in readers the idea that they have a lot in common with illegal aliens.

“Awesome!” declares the editor’s imaginary deadhead. “You’re from Chihuahua? I’m from Pittsburgh! And look, we both have children born in Phoenix and we’re voting here in Arizona’s elections for the first time!”